


A Castle Family Outing

by EmmaDeMarais



Category: Castle
Genre: Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-21
Updated: 2009-12-21
Packaged: 2017-10-04 21:33:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmaDeMarais/pseuds/EmmaDeMarais
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Castle family outing wouldn't be complete without a dash of crime and a side of Beckett.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Castle Family Outing

"Beckett!"

Kate looked up to spot Rick striding towards her and her crime scene - a not totally unexpected sight, though how welcome it was remained debatable - only this time his mother and daughter were in tow.

"Castle?" She eyed him with confusion and perhaps a little amusement. "You brought your family to a crime scene?"

"Oh!" He gestured back to them almost haphazardly. "Not really. We were in the area. A Sunday Castle family outing: some shopping - that part's not my idea, but I'm the minority voter in my family; a matinee play, again not my idea; and up next, dinner out somewhere nice like Nobu or Tavern on the Green."

"Nobu's so over, Dad," Alexis piped up after giving Kate a shy wave in greeting. "Your publicist would get really peeved with you if you were photographed eating there."

"Since when do I care about keeping my ex-wife happy - publicist or not?" Rick grumbled. "Besides, I like the food at Nobu."

"Oh, just get it delivered like everyone else who doesn't want to be seen there anymore," Martha scoffed as she approached. "Hello Detective Beckett."

"Nice to see you again," Kate said, nodding to them in greeting. "Though this isn't exactly where I imagined we'd run into each other."

"We were on our way out of the theatre and I saw the crime scene tape so…" Rick rubbed his hands together, clearly amped. "I just couldn't resist a peek. The uniform let us through." He gestured back to the officer guarding the tape line, clearly pleased. "He's a big fan."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Sorry to disappoint you, Castle. No big juicy murder case for your books. Just an attempted murder."

"Oh, that means a witness, doesn't it?" Rick's face fell. "That kind of does take the fun out of it."

"Well, if it helps he didn't see anything," Kate offered, more sarcastic than conciliatory.

"I know a lot of people in the theatre community," Martha piped up. "Many of them could use a good killing off, preferably in the first act. May I ask who it was?"

"A Sebastian Thorne?" Kate answered. Recognition dawned on Martha's face and she nodded knowingly. "Apparently he's the artistic director of this playhouse."

"More like its Hitler," Martha huffed as she made a sour face. "Or like the mini-me version of Hitler. This is Off-Broadway after all; he's not that important."

"So there would be a lot of people who'd want to blindfold him, tie him up center stage in an empty theatre and threaten him with a knife?"

"Oh, no," Martha replied with a dismissive gesture. "There are a lot of people who want him dead or out of a job, but only a self-important actor would be so vain as to want to torment him on stage to get his moment of glory." She got a faraway look in her eye. "That would actually be fabulous to play: the femme fatale actress, finally getting her revenge against the man who ruined her career…"

"You'd be great at it," Alexis assured her. "I'd buy a ticket."

"You'd make me buy the tickets," Rick deadpanned. "So did anyone see this guy?"

Kate gestured to the open theatre door behind her. "Cleaning crew. A janitor opened the door from the lobby and saw them on stage. He turned behind him to yell for the other janitor to call the police and when he turned back the guy was just gone."

"Gone? Have you checked the trap door?" Martha asked.

"Trap door?"

"Certainly! Every halfway decent theatre has at least one proper trap door in their stage!" she exclaimed. "Even off-Broadway." She lowered her voice to a whisper, sounding almost conspiratorial and certainly over-dramatic. "He could be hiding in there even now!"

"Ryan! Esposito!" Kate called out, beckoning them over. "Go check to see if there's a trap door in the stage. If there is our guy might be hiding under it." She turned back to Martha. "What makes you think an actor might have done this?"

Martha made an extravagant gesture with her perfectly manicured hand. "The stage… It demands so much drama it attracts those of us who wish to live larger than life. Besides, committing a crime in private makes sense and committing one center stage takes an enormous ego. Thus an actor."

"What does that say about your ego, Mother?" Rick drawled teasingly.

"I don't have ego, my dear boy." She tossed her scarf over her shoulder with a flourish. "I have talent."

Alexis tittered behind her hand, trading a sly glance with her father. "Hey, if it's an actor," she pointed out, brightening. "I bet you it was a prop knife."

"Yeah, those ones with the fake retracting blades!" Rick chimed in, turning to face Kate. "Tell me, is it still attempted murder if the knife is plastic?"

"We've got plenty to charge him on," Kate said drolly. "Don't worry about that."

"Got him!" Esposito and Ryan came out leading a handcuffed man: handsome, blond and annoyed looking, with an evidence bag containing a knife.

"And get this," Ryan added, holding the bag up. "The knife? It's not real. It's a prop!"

"Daniel Cross! You naughty boy!" Martha scolded the man, looking him up and down. "Just see what kind of reviews you get from now on."

"Oh, I'm sure he'll be getting rave reviews - in prison." Kate cocked her head at him. "Take him away."

"Well! Our work here is done!" Rick gloated, a smug grin on his face. "I think it sounds like time for a well-deserved dinner at Nobu."

"Not Nobu," both Martha and Alexis said in unison.

Rick ignored them, turning to Kate.

"Beckett! Would you care to join us?"

She gestured to the suspect being loaded into a police car. "I really should go do the paperwork for this case."

"Nonsense," Martha told her. "The man committed a crime. Well, not in my book…"

"Or mine," Rick piped up. "That's way too trite a crime to immortalize in any of my works. Although…" He got a thoughtful look on his face as his mother cut him off.

"Regardless, you don't owe him the courtesy of processing his paperwork promptly."

"Yeah," Alexis added. "He's going to spend years in jail. I think you taking an hour out for dinner isn't going to make a big difference in the long run. Besides…" She gave Kate a playful smile, flicking her eyes to her father and back. "If you don't come with us he'll be insufferable, claiming you only solved the case so fast because of him."

"I'm standing right here!" Rick protested.

"That's reason enough to come," Kate said with a smirk Rick's way. "Let's go. Only not to Nobu."

"Halleluiah, a woman with some sense!" Martha exclaimed. "Come with us, Detective. Our treat." Martha lowered her voice as she and Alexis flanked Kate, ushering her out of the alley, leaving Rick to follow behind. "Actually my son's paying so we're thinking of starting with oysters on the half-shell."

"I heard that!"

Kate glanced over her shoulder, chuckling as she watched Rick throw up his hands in exasperation before turning back to his mother and daughter.

"Well, if you want to do some serious damage, there's a new place that supposedly has amazing sashimi platters. The New York Times gave them a rave review."

"Ooh, sashimi!" Alexis enthused. "Hey, after dinner we should go somewhere nice for dessert!"

"What a wonderful idea! I know just the place: WD~50." Martha shared a knowing glance with her granddaughter. "The five course dessert tasting menu is something you truly must experience. Trust me Detective, you'll love it. Alexis and I already do."

Rick let out a groan.

"I'm going to need another book to pay for this."


End file.
